


The Obligatory Coffee Shop AU

by becca_the_quiet_one



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019), Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, where on earth is
Genre: F/F, Fluff, coffee shop au exceot it's a doughnut shop and also not au, slight angst eventually, still not enough fic for this ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-06
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-11-12 16:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18013928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becca_the_quiet_one/pseuds/becca_the_quiet_one
Summary: "Code red code red what the hell? Was this flirting? No way. Ivy’s luck was not good enough for this random, very hot, very adorable girl to just instantly take a liking to her."The story of how a cute couple is formed and several terrible donuts are eaten.This story is finished!





	1. Chapter 1

The doughnut shop stuck out like a sore thumb. Sleek black and green against the more mundane and worn Boston town, it looked newer, sharper. Richer.

 

Ivy readjusted the messenger bag on her shoulder as she walked in. That was what mattered. Even the patrons of looked eccentric, with crazy fashions that looked to cost a fortune, but with eyes that looked sharply down.

 

In short, it was new and a little too much for Ivy. Something about it just rubbed her the wrong way. The fact that her favorite mom-and-pop shop had been demolished to make room had nothing to do with that. In any case, it’d be a great score.

Ivy frowned as she walked through the door. No matter what the outside may say about the place, the inside smelled distinctly cheap. Like instead of baking pastries, they had chosen instead to pump the artificial smell of baking bread into every fiber of cloth in the building.

 

Whoever decorated the place looked like they’d given a half-hearted attempt at homey and given up halfway through. The table looked dark and modern, but a thin film of dust and grease covered the surface. Bare bulbs hung from the ceiling, but in this context they looked more rundown than minimalist. Even the counter looked like something straight out of prison.

 

As she walked up to order, Ivy’s eyes scanned the four walls surrounding her. No matter how cheap the decor was, these pricks didn’t skimp on security. There were cameras in every corner, and it appeared that even the vents were kept locked. Damn. looks like this would be harder than she thought. 

 

Ivy’s frown deepened as she stood in line. This would be a hell of a lot harder than she thought. Probably take even longer to fully case the joint, which meant having to spend more time in this hell, plus a higher risk of getting caught on security cams.

 

“May I take your order?” Ivy looked up, and suddenly the thought of having to spend more time here got a whole lot better.

 

The barista was gorgeous. Tall and thin, with tan skin kissed by the sun and long, long black hair that went all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were blue, so deep that they almost looked purple. For a split second, Ivy wondered why the hell she was working here in this crummy coffee shop when she could’ve just as easily been a model of some kind.

“Can I take your order?” Ivy snapped out of her stupor. The voice was more annoyed now, irritated.  “If not, please get out of line.”

Now, Ivy prided herself on having a way with the ladies. She’s flirted her way right into their wallets and said every pick-up line under the sun. And normally she’d reply with something suave, among the lines of “Is your number on the menu?”.

“Uh, yeah.” Internally, Ivy berated herself. Staring was not cool. She knew better. “Sorry. Tall black and a glazed, please.”

The cute barista nodded, still frowning. “Name?”

“Ivy.”

“That’ll be $6.95.”

“High price for cheap… uh.” Ivy felt her cheeks growing red. Maybe don’t insult the product in front of the person selling it to you? For all she knew, this chick could be the owner’s daughter. Or the owner herself.

And why the hell did she care???

The girl gave her a look, something like a glare laced with genuine curiosity. Then she sent Ivy’s cup further down the line and motioned for it’s recipient to do the same.

Ivy hung her head in shame and moved down to the waiting area. Something about this place was seriously messing with her vibe. Well, with a little luck she’d be able to convince Zack to check it out next time.

Accepting her coffee and doughnut from the stone-faced man at the counter, she made her way over to one of the greasy, unclean tables. Better to case the place from. Also, the doughnut was so covered in frosting she was sure it would slide right off if she took another step.

The tables had long benches on either side. Ivy scoffed. Probably cheaper than individual chairs. They were hard plastic too, and Ivy could already feel the ache she would later have in her backside. 

, 

Ivy opened her laptop to a blank page. If anyone looked at the cameras, they’d likely believe she was just another hipster trying to write the next great American novel. As if. In reality she was rewriting the entire script of the first episode of The Twilight Zone from memory. The key was to look just focused enough to look busy, but still be able to glance up every once in a while to reevaluate her initial conclusions about the joint. She spent about half an hour clacking away at her keyboard.

_ “Cash registers bolted to the counter, probably need a crowbar to get it off. Might be easier to just hack it. Should watch for th-” _

“Is this seat taken?” For the second time, a voice startled Ivy out of her thoughts.

It was the cute barista from earlier, because of course she had to walk over while Ivy had her face full of doughnut. Quickly swallowing, and grimacing because it was terrible, Ivy tried to respond, but the brunette sat down anyways.

“I’d like to introduce myself.” The brunette had a sharp, lovely face, and for the first time Ivy noticed that her eyes were a very deep blue. “I’m Isabel.”

“Ivy. But I’m guessing you already knew that.”

Isabel quirked an eyebrow. “Do you think I remember the names of every customer?”   
  


Ivy blushed and stuttered. “No! I mean, of course not, you prolly get a hundred names  a day and-”

Isabel laughed. “I’m just kidding. I remember your name. And your accent.”

“Not from around here, are you?” The distinct lack of clunky syllables in her dialect gave it away.

A slight grin came over Isabels face and she shrugged her shoulders  “You could say that. I’m guessing you are?”

“Born and raised.” Ivy proudly raised her head. “Please tell me you aren’t a Yankees fan.”

Isabella shook her head. “Can’t say I’m too interested in baseball.”

“Well, then what are you interested in?” Crap. Was that too forward?

Isabel shrugged. “Oh, plenty of things. Classic tv, good books, deadly accidents, etc.”

Ivy looked at the half-finished script and thought of the towering list of audiobooks she meant to listen to. She wondered if she should be worried by the deadly accidents comment. 

“You ever read Don Quixote?” Ivy ventured. That was safe, right? She’d just finished it a few weeks ago and the details were relatively fresh in her mind.

Isabel smiled. “The man of La Mancha? I have.”

“Did you… like it?”

“I liked laughing at him.” Ivy’s heart skipped a beat. She’d woken Zack up at three in the morning during the windmill scene. So that was something else they had in common.

“Me too. It’s hard to believe someone could be that oblivious.” Ivy smiled. “It was a good read. Or listen, for me.”

“You like audiobooks?” Isabel asked.

Ivy shrugged. “Yeah. i’ve got dyslexia, so regular old books don’t always work out so well for me.”

Isabel leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes that seemed almost predatory. “Then can I ask what you’re writing?” She gestured to the open laptop. “Most folks who come in here look like they know exactly what they’re doing. I’m not sure I can say the same for you.”

Ivy blanched. “Uh… I’m not sure either. Not doin anything, really.”

Isabel leaned back, cheeks looking a bit red. “Sorry to pry.”

“Consider it payback for me starin at you earlier, holding up the line and everything.”

“Oh, I don’t mind.” Isabel stood up. “In fact, if you come back tomorrow I might even let you do it again.”

Code red code red what the hell? Was this flirting? No way. Ivy’s luck was not good enough for this random, very hot, very adorable girl to just instantly take a liking to her.

“Uh.” Ivy sputtered.

Isabel smirked and placed a card down on the table. “Coupon for a free donut. Wouldn’t suggest taking it though. They’re pretty terrible.”

With that, she turned on her heels and walked back towards the counter, leaving an extremely flustered and speechless Ivy in her wake.

________________________________________________________________________________

“Sorry bro,” Ivy said as she walked down the street, “Gonna need another day to stake it out. At least.

On the other end, Zack groaned. “Fine. But this better be an awesome job. And these donuts bettter be adonuts better be delicious.”

“Trust me, it will be.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one goes out to @imhereformysciencefriends on Tumblr, because they updated their fic inspired me to finish this chapter and because they're really cool. Please enjoy!

True to her word, Ivy returned the next day. And the one after that. And before she realized it, she’d been walking the way down to the shop for over a month. Her favorite pair of converse, already worn down from years of use, were on their last legs. She had to stop this, she knew, eventually her daily trips would make her look like a person of interest.

 

         But for the first time, she didn’t care. Ivy didn’t want to admit it, but Isabel was someone she was greatly interested in. Not just in a romantic, I’m-super-gay-for-you kind of way, but more so the fact that Isabel was a fun person to talk to, and Ivy felt they had a genuine connection. Many a classic novel had been discussed between cold coffee and really, really bad doughnuts, including some that Ivy may or may not have actually read. Elizabeth did end up marrying Wickham, right?

 

Probably not, as it made Isabel laugh so hard she snorted, and honestly how can someone look cute while snorting? Ivy had both wanted to thank a higher power for seeing that an punch it for finding that attractive. In the end she had done neither, only blushed and waited for Isabel to get her breath back before changing the subject. Something simple, casual and not completely embarrassing. 

 

“So, how’d you end up in a crappy Boston doughnut shop, anyways?” 

 

The mirth drained out of Isabel's face, and her face turned startlingly neutral. “Oh you know, I didn't really mean to get here. This is just where I ended up.”

 

That was… vague. Somehow Ivy found that she knew even less than she did before she asked.

 

“So, no family round here?” Ivy inquired.

 

Isabel rolled her eyes. “God, I hope not.”

 

Then she asked if Ivy had ever read Great Expectations, to which she enthusiastically responded yes, and that if she found Pip to be an enjoyable character she was never speaking to her again.

 

And that summed up how many of their conversations went. Ivy knew very little about Isabel’s past, and it seemed that Isabel wanted to keep it that way. She’d once let slip that she was raised on an island, and that she was an only child. Beyond that, Ivy knew pretty much nothing of Isabel’s past. 

 

And she was okay with that. As much as she liked her, Ivy acknowledged that they barely knew each other. And even if Isabel knew just about everything about her family and her personal life, Ivy understood some things just were not meant to be shared. Like,for example, the fact that she was planning to rob the shop that Isabel worked at, possibly putting her out of a job in the process. That seemed like third or fourth date material.

 

Zack however, was not willing to wait that long.

 

“It’s been a month Ives!” He argued one night. “How much longer do you need?!”

 

“I’ll take as long as I need to, thank you very much.” Ivy scoffed back. “Scoutin a joint’s hard work. I’m actually putting in the leg work here.”

 

Zack threw up his hands. “Because you won’t let me do anything!”

 

“Course not.” Ivy retorted. “You remember what happened in Jersey.”

 

“That was one time! And that horse was asking for it!”

 

“We smelled like cottage cheese for a week, Zack. A week.”

 

“We smelled delicious!”

 

Ivy sighed and moved to put her earbuds back in. she really wanted to finish this book before she saw Isabel tomorrow. Ivy hoped she was into South American authors.

 

Just as she relaxed back into the sofa, Zack exclaimed, “But that still doesn’t explain why this is taking you so long!”

 

Ivy huffed. “I told you dude, the place is locked up tight. Cameras and locks and everything.”

 

“Well then maybe we better scrap this whole thing!” Zack yelled.

 

Ivy froze. “No!”

 

Zack stopped. He furrowed his eyebrows. His eyes widened.

 

“Zack-”

 

“You didn’t.” 

 

Ivy cringed. “Of course I didn’t.”

 

“Tell me you didn’t,” Zack continued, “Sacrifice weeks of planning and strategy, risk rent money, and lie to me for a month  _ for a girl. _

 

“She’s a really cute girl?”

 

“No. No no no. This is not happening.” Zack sank into the ratty armchair that adorned their apartment, his face buried in his hands.

 

“Zack, listen.” Ivy tried.

 

“Don’t. I can’t even look at you right now.”

 

“I’m so, so sorry. I swear-”

 

“How dare you get a girlfriend before me!” Zack exclaimed.

 

Ivy blinked. Once, twice. “ _ That’s _ what you’re mad about?!”

 

“I tried so hard in high school,” Zack moaned, “I even wore a monkey suit to ask Sarah Larson on a date.”

 

“And you did it right in front of her girlfriend too.” Ivy recalled, still perplexed by the situation. “The one who wrestled.”

 

“This is so not fair.” Zack pouted. “How could you do this to me?”

 

Ivy shrugged. “Technically I didn’t. She isn’t my girlfriend.”

 

Zack looked up, incredulous. “Then what is she?”

 

“Just… a very pretty acquaintance who I’d really like to be my girlfriend.”

 

“So you’re saying there’s still a chance!” Zack exclaimed.

 

“I mean, sure. I don’t know if she likes me like that, but I think-”

 

Zack shushed her. “Not that! My problems! I can still get a girlfriend before you!”

 

Ivy sighed. “Listen, I don’t know why this is so important to you, but can you please calm down?”

 

“Never!” Zack sprung out of the chair with a leap. “Right here, right now, I”m gonna find someone in this city who’ll date me, so I can finally beat you at something!”

 

“You could just play me at poker or something. I’ll even let you win.” Ivy offered. “Please leave random people alone.”

 

Zack was already out the door by the time she finished. Ivy groaned. He took it better than expected, but it was gonna be a long night.

________________________________

 

Zack came home three hours later with two black eyes. After she spent a good ten minutes laughing at him, Ivy pulled out the first aid kit and began smearing ointment over his eyelids.

 

“So, is she cute?” Zack asked.

 

“I think so.” Ivy responded. “Stop moving.”

 

Zack winced as the cream took effect. “And you still haven’t done anything yet?”

 

“Nope.” Ivy stepped back. “I wanna get to know her a little. We’re flirting. Can you see anything?”

 

“I can see a very handsome man,” He said, pointing to the mirror. “But seriously, I wanna meet her.”

 

“Hell no.” Ivy said as she packed up kit. “I don’t need you scaring this one away too.”

 

Zack scoffed. “When have I ever done that?”

 

“Well, there was Angie Oliver, Cara Bauer, Lauren Hammerstein.”

 

“Alright, I get it.” Zack acquiesced. “Can I at least know what she looks like?”

 

“No, you’ll stalk the shop until you find her.” Ivy folded her arms across her chest. “Then you’ll badger her with questions, and she doesn’t like those.”

 

“Fine.” Zack pouted. “Can I at least know her name?”

 

Ivy thought for a minute before responding. “Isabel.”

 

“Isabel.” Zack repeated, looking thoughtful. “Well you know, that rhymes with-”

 

“-please, for the love of baseball and everything holy, don’t finish that sentence.”

 

Zack nodded. “Do you want me to call off the heist?”

 

Ivy hesitated. “I dunno yet.”

 

“There’s other places.” Zack offered. “But you finding a girl that’s actually interested?  That’s one in a million.”

 

Ivy shot him a glare but continued. “I don’t wanna do it, but we kinda need it right now.”

 

She gestured to the peeling paint and cracked foundation of their shared apartment. They were already behind on bills, and small-time pick-pocketing just wasn’t cutting it anymore. They needed another one of their big paydays if they were gonna stay afloat.

 

“I gotcha.” Zack said, standing up and stretching. “It’s up to you, just let me know what ya wanna do. G’night.”

 

“Night.” Ivy said absentmindedly as Zack went into his bedroom and closed the door   
  


________________________________________________

 

“And then she said “If you don’t put the ice on the bottom of my coffee I’ll have you fired!””

 

Ivy laughed. “And what did you say back?”

  
  
“I told her that if I could turn physics off, she’d be a proton instead of a moron.”

 

It was the first time ivy had convinced Isabel to meet her outside of the doughnut shop, and it already seemed like isabel was opening up a little more. Over ice cream on the docks, she’d been sharing stories of terrible customers for half an hour now, something she’d never done before. Ivy guessed that she felt more comfortable doing so where people might not overheard her. 

 

“Damn,” Ivy whistled. “If I’d done that at my last job, I’d a been so fired.”

 

“I have some very hands off managers.” Isabel said, taking a lick of her raspberry cinnamon ice cream. She moaned. “This is so good. Wanna try?”

 

“Tempting, but not worth it.” Ivy said, shaking her head. “I like my insides right where they are.”

 

Taking a lick of her own, lactose-free blueberry, Ivy continued. “There’s a bench over there, you wanna sit down?”

 

“Please.” Isabel sighed. “My feet hurt so bad.”

 

As they took each side, Ivy turned to look over the slowly setting sun over the ocean. “This is nice.”

 

“Your feet don’t touch the ground.” Isabel observed from beside her.

 

“That they do not.” Ivy agreed. “Call me short and we’re gonna have some problems.”

  
  
“I wouldn’t!” Isabel laughed. “It’s pretty adorable, actually.”

 

Ivy blushed. “Well, not as adorable as your face right now.”

 

“What do you-”

 

And with that, Ivy knocked back Isabel's hand so that her scoop of ice cream gently touched her nose. Shocked, Isabel's jaw dropped.

 

Ivy laughed. “See! I told you! You’re adorable, Rudolph!”

 

“Oh, now it’s on.” Isabel grinned evilly.

 

They ended up getting more ice cream on themselves than in their mouths, but Ivy was sure she’d never laughed harder in her life.

 

“It’s getting dark,” Isabel observed as they came down from their giggle high. “Let me walk you home.”

 

“Okay,” Ivy said as she stood up, “But in terms of my brother, I promise nothing.”

 

It was a good twenty minute walk back to Ivy’s apartment, and while she didn’t want to admit it, she felt her heart speed up a little. Maybe now was the time to make the first move?

 

Entering the building, Ivy sighed as the warm air hit her face. The tail end of the Boston summer was just starting to turn frigid. 

 

“You can stay the night, if you want.” Ivy said, then quickly added. “I can kick my brother out of his room. It’s probably mostly clean.”

 

“Thanks, but I’ll just take a cab.” Isabel said as they entered the elevator. “I’ve got an early shift tomorrow. Some other time?”

 

“Sure.” Ivy said, though her mind was elsewhere. She was really going to do it, make the first move. Now was the time to gather up the courage to do so.

 

As the doors opened to the eighth floor, both girls stepped out, but Ivy could hear nothing but the blood rushing in her ears. It wasn’t too late to chicken out, right?

 

“119, right?” Isabel said. 

 

“Yeah.” Ivy choked out. She fumbled with her keys for a second before inserting one into the lock.

 

“So, um,” Ivy said as she stepped into the doorway, “I had a really great time with you tonight.”

 

Isabel smiled. “Me too. This was fun.”

 

“I’m glad you think so,” Ivy said, “Because I’d really like to keep doing this with you.”

 

Isabel's smile turned a little bashfully, and the tops of her cheeks flushed. “I think… I’d like that too.”

 

Before Ivy had time to talk herself out of it, she took a half step forward and kissed Isabel’s cheek, getting just the tiniest corner of her mouth in the process.

 

Quickly pulling back, Ivy saw that Isabel's face was now completely red. Ivy was sure hers matched. 

 

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ivy offered, stepping back inside the door.

 

“Yeah.” Isabel said, dazed but with a smile on her face. “Looking forward to it.”

 

Ivy giggled. “Goodnight, Isabel.”

 

Then she closed the door, flopped down face first onto the sofa, and yelled “Zack! You can come out now!”

 

Immediately, Zack bounded out from behind the wall and plopped down onto the armrest next to her.

 

“So she is cute!” Zack yelled, a grin splitting his face. “And I’m so proud of you, taking the initiative!”

 

“She is very cute.” Ivy agreed. “And I think I’m a little proud of myself too.”

 

Zack squealed. “Tell. Me. Everything!”

 

Ivy pressed her face further into the couch. It was gonna be another long night, but she was so ridiculously happy she didn’t care

_____________________________________________

 

As Ivy walked into the shop the next morning, she was shocked to find someone else at the register. Tall and thin, the brown-skinned man looked extremely bored.

 

As she put in her usual order, Ivy asked. “So, what happened to the girl who usually works here?”

 

The man eyed her suspiciously. “What’s it to you?”

 

Something about this guy rubbed Ivy the wrong way. “I’ve gotten to know her. Can’t a girl ask about her friends once in a while?”

 

The guy squinted his eyes at her. “She quit.”

 

Ivy felt as though someone had sucked all the air from her lungs. A cold feeling of dread settled in her stomach. “No way. She would’ve told me.”

 

The guy smirked. “Maybe you don’t know her as well as you thought you did.”

 

Ivy glared and went to collect her order. Staring down at the cold, soggy doughnut, she no longer saw the point in eating it. She dumped it in the trash on her way out. 

 

Terrible thoughts plagued her the entire way home. Maybe the kiss wasn’t as well recepted as she thought? Maybe Isabel just wasn’t ready for this and bounced before it got complicated? Maybe she’d never really liked Ivy in the first place.

 

Ivy had well managed to convince herself of this fact by the time she got back to the apartment. After all, why would a cute, smart girl like Isabel settle for someone like her? She was probably just humoring Ivy every time they met. Clearly, Ivy meant so little to her that she didn’t even think to say goodbye.

 

Zack found her hours later, curled up in bed with tear soaked pillowcases. 

 

The first thing she said was, “We rob the place tonight.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

Old habits die hard.

 

“What are you doing?!” Zack whisper-yelled.

 

Ivy froze, her hand frozen reaching for her back pocket. “Uhm.”

 

The shop looked a helluva lot better in the dark, Ivy surmised. The accents in the room glowed disney-villain green, and gave off an air eerily similar to a haunted house.

 

Zack sighed. “It’s not too late to back out, Ives.”

 

“Don’t say my name!” Ivy hissed. She’d made sure to dismantle as many security cameras and listening devices as she could, but there was always the chance that there could be more. “Let’s just hurry up and get outta here. I wanna be done with this place.”

 

She stalked towards the cash register, pressing a series of button. Lord knows she’d seen  _ Her _ do it enough times. When the drawers sprung open, she groaned. 

 

“Damnit, they’ve emptied it out for the night.”

 

“Fancy place like this, they prolly got a safe in the back. Let’s check it out.” Zack tilted his head. “You take left, I’ll take right.”

 

The kitchens looked even more dismal in the dark, and it was all Ivy could do to keep from choking on the smell of burnt sugar and grease. From up close Ivy could see that the fryers were rusted, and that the oil had congealed into a fatty goo.

 

Ivy gagged. Great. Another reason to be disgusted that she ever ate here.

 

From the other side of the kitchen, Zack swore. “You gotta check this out.”

 

Tiptoeing across the room, Ivy looked over Zack’s shoulder and gasped. A series of long pipes and valves, dripping into vials of glowing purple liquid.

 

“What is this?” Ivy wondered, plucking one of the vials from the system. As she did so, a drop fell from the pipe, and the siblings watched in horror as it ate through the countertop and fell to the floor, continuing to eat through the tile.

 

“I think we may be in a little over our heads here.” Zack said, eyeing the vial Ivy was holding.

 

Ivy grabbed a cork and tucked the vial into her pocket. “Agreed. Let’s get outta here.”

 

_ “You’re not going anywhere.” _

________________

 

Zack was yelling. Really loudly and it made Ivy’s head throb. She winced. Where was she?

 

“-she watched the Hallmark channel because of you! SHE HATES THE HALLMARK CHANNEL.!!!”

 

She was in a room. Zack was here. What else? Blurrily, she blinked her eyes open. A storage room probably. There were shelves and shelves of the glowy purple liquid all around her.

 

“And all those donuts! For nothing?!”

 

Her wrists were handcuffed, looped around one of the bars. Easy to pick, if she just had a hair clip or something.

 

“How dare you make her listen to those stupid books!!”

 

“Mmm. I like those books.” Ivy mumbled.

 

Oh good, Zack wasn’t yelling anymore. “Ivy! Ivy, can you hear me?!”

 

That wasn’t Zack. Ivy forced her eyes to stay open enough to take in the rest of the room. Zack was here, looking at her like she had three heads. He was cuffed too, and behind him-

 

“-what the hell are you doing here?”

 

Isabel quirked an eyebrow, still long and thin and perfect no matter how mad Ivy was at her. “Not like i wanted to be here.”

 

“No, sorry.” Ivy mumbled. “But really. They told me you quit. I thought you left.” 

 

The  _ without telling me _ on the tip of her tongue goes unsaid.

 

“No, it’s not like that.” Isabel sounds desperate. “It’s kind of a long story. We don’t have much time.”

 

Ivy sighs. “We have some time. I’d kinda like to know why that tiger chick knocked me out and threw us in here. And what this the hell this goop is.”

 

“And why you broke my sis’s heart.” Zack adds, glaring.

 

“Zack!” Ivy admonishes. She turns to Isabel. “Spill. Now.”

 

“Okay, I’ll make this short.” Isabel sucks in a deep breath. “My name isn’t Isabel, for one.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“It’s Carmen. Carmen Sandiego. I was raised by an evil syndicate of thieves, and I just got out a few months ago. But now they’ve found me and they want to take me back.”

 

“Um. Make it a little less short?” Zack asks.

 

“That… raises more questions than it answers.” Ivy admits. “And I expect more a helluva lot more details outta you later. But right now I need you to tell me what this is.”

 

Isabel- no, Carmen, shakes her head. “Some kind of highly corrosive, flammable liquid. I watched it eat through three inches of solid metal like it was nothing. I have no idea what they’re planning to do with it.”

 

Ivy struggles to her feet. It’s an awkward angle, and she’s hunched over uncomfortably as she ruffles through her pockets.

 

“What are you doing?” Zack asks, but Ivy doesn't hear him, too busy mumbling through her pockets. 

 

“Gotta be here…somewhere…. Aha!” 

 

“What is it?” Carmen asks.

 

“If this thing ate through solid metal,” Ivy says triumphantly, Then a couple pairs a cuffs oughta be nothin, right?”

 

In her hand is a glowing purple vial, just like the ones surrounding them. 

 

Zack picks his jaw up off the floor. “When did you-”   
  


“-Right before she knocked us out, bro.” Ivy smiles weakly and steels her nerves. “I’ll get you out in a second.”

 

“Please be careful.” Carmen says, and Ivy can’t see her but she can hear the pleading in her voice.

 

“Yeah, okay.” Ivy says, and slowly tips the vial so that a single drop falls from it’s glass lips. She watches with baited breath as it falls, landing on her chains and barely resting there before hitting the floor and burning right through it.

 

Ivy gives a sharp tug, and the chain splinters into pieces. She flexes her wrists once, twice, savoring the mobility. 

 

Zack’s chains are nothing, and if her hands shake a little as she’s pouring, then that’s no one’s business.

 

There’s no way this next part isn’t going to be awkward, but Ivy’s too curious and too hopeful to leave her there.

 

So Ivy turns around, vial in hand and lead weights in her stomach, only to find-

 

“-what the hell happened to you?” Tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it.

 

Carmen’s legs are bruised, her lips are swollen, and there’s a cut on her shoulder that slices through her shirt. Her arm is twisted in a way that isn’t natural, and Ivy knows there’s no way that came from the handcuffs.

 

Isabel looks at her then and grins, wider than Ivy’s ever seen her do. “Family reunion. The other guy looks way worse.”

 

Ivy shakes her head and kneels down beside her. “Pretty sure the only way he’d look worse is if he was in a coffin.”

 

Isabel shrugs. “Maybe.”

 

Losing her parents had taught Ivy one thing: don’t ask questions if you aren’t prepared for the answer. But she needs this one, even if it shreds her.

 

“I don’t know you at all, do I?”

 

Carmen pleads. “Ivy, please listen to me.”

 

“So, was it all a lie then?” She’s shaking with rage, but she’s still careful to keep the glowing purple stuff away from any body parts.

 

Carmen’s newly freed hands go to cup Ivy’s. For some reason, she lets her. “No, not everything. Not even most of it. I do love classic literature and old tv. I really never did have ice cream before yesterday.Besides my name, the only thing I lied about was baseball.”   
  
Ivy knits her eyebrows. “Baseball?” 

 

Carmen looks bashful. “Yeah. I, uh… I lied when I said I didn't know anything about baseball. The truth is, one of the first things I did when I got off the Island was go to a Red Sox game.”

 

“Why would you lie about that?”

 

Carmen blushes. “I wanted you hear you tell me about it, because you were so passionate about it. And it was really nice to hear you be so happy.”

 

Ivy flushes as red as her hair. She looks down at Isabel's hands, still holding hers. “You ain’t chained up anymore.”   
  


“Right, thanks to you.”   
  
“There’s no reason for you to sweet-talk me.” Ivy observes, then shyly looks up at Carmen’s face. “I guess you must mean it.”

 

Carmen looks at her. “Of course I do.”

 

Despite the fact that Carmen is clearly very injured and they’re surrounded by something that could kill them and people who probably want to kill them, Ivy thinks that maybe this is the kind of perfect moment she keeps hearing about in all her books. The kind where, even though she still knows next to nothing about this person in front of her, she might just take a chance and do something stupid.

 

So against all her better judgement, Ivy leans in. Carmen meets her halfway.

 

It’s short, because their lives are still on the line, but Ivy thinks this might just be the best thing that’s ever happened in the history of ever.

 

When they part, Carmen looks flushed. “Well, to tell you the truth, that was actually my first kiss.”

 

“After everything, I hope you can forgive me for not believing you.” Ivy replied, just as red. “But I’ll say you’re very good at it.”

 

“Sorry to interrupt,” Ivy jolts out of the little love-world she wasn’t aware she’d fallen into. Zack is standing by the door, which is now wide open. “But maybe you can smooch later?”

 

“Right.” Ivy stands, and as her hands are still interestingly connected with Carmens, she brings her up too. “Let’s get going.”

___________________________________

 

“That,” Zack says as he picks crystals out of his hair, back in their apartment, “Was insane.”

 

Ivy groans as Carmen bandages her shoulder. “If by insane you mean sticky and disgusting, then yes, yes it was.”

 

“Okay,” Carmen starts, “In my defense, how was I supposed to know it was a formula for rock candy?”

 

“Dunno.” Ivy says as Carmen finishes. “Maybe it’s time for you to explain that.”

 

Carmen hesitates. “Maybe it’s better if you don’t know.”

 

Ivy’s eye twitches. “Hell no. You lied to me for months. We just had to fight our way out of explosive rock candy. You better spill right damn now.”

 

Carmen flinches. “I know you’re upset, but things will only get harder for you if I tell you about my past. If I don’t tell you, I can keep you safe.”

 

“Goddammit!” Ivy leaps to her feet. “I’ve had enough of this! When the hell did I ever make you think I wanted to be  _ safe _ ?”

 

“Sounds like you guys need to talk this out.” Zack says, scrambling out of his chair and running for the door. “I’m just gonna-”   
  
“- _ Zack _ .” Ivy growls

 

“BYE!” The door slams shut.

 

Carmen raises her hands in defense. “Ivy, please trust me. It’ll be so much better for you if I walk out that door right now.”

 

Ivy drops her hands to her sides and her chin to her chest. “If that’s what you want, then go.”

 

Carmen clenches her hands into fists, then steps towards the door. “I don’t want to, but it’s for the best.

 

Straw, meet camel’s back. Ivy grabs Carmen's arm. “No.”

 

“Wha-”   
  
“I. Said. No.” Blue-green eyes meet brown. “No, you are not walking out that door. No, you are sitting your perfect butt down and explaining why the hell this is happening. No, you do not get to decide what’s best for me when I don’t even know all my options.”

 

Carmen's eyes soften. Ivy can see her walls crack. “There’s no coming back from this one.”

 

“I looked my worst case scenario in the face.” Ivy tightens her grip on Carmens arm. “It happened. I lived. I’m here now.”

 

“What happened to you?” Carmen voice is velvet soft and deadly.

 

Short breaths. In and out. “I’ll tell if you do.”

 

“You first.”

 

“Fine.” Ivy releases Carmens arm and grasps her own. “I told my… parents who I am. They didn’t like what they saw, I guess.”

 

“Ivy…”

 

“I had a choice. Change or get outta sight.” Ivy waves her hand around. “Take a guess for what happened next.”

 

“But that isn’t a choice at all!” carmen sounds genuinely distressed, more so than Ivy thought she would be.

 

“You’re right.” Ivy nods. “Get it now?

 

Carmen deflates. “Yeah, I… I get it now. Pull up a chair, this one’s a doozy.”

________________________________________________

 

Two hours later, Ivy feels like her heads’ exploded.

 

“So this VILE, they’re… everything.” Her mind is spinning with all the implications.

 

“Pretty much.” Carmen says. “Think of some tragedy thats happened in the last twenty-odd years. It was probably them.”

 

“I don’t even know what to say.”

 

“You never do.” Carmen smiles, and stands up.

 

“Where are you going?” There’s no way she still wants to leave, not after everything. Not when Ivy’s still sitting on the floor mentally incapacitated.

 

“Intel says VILE’s planning something in Tibet.” Carmen dusts herself off like what she’s just said is nothing. “Looks like Dr. Bellums work with human experimentation again.”

 

Then she reaches out a hand. “Why don’t you come with me?”

 

“Me?!”

 

Carmen rolls her eyes. “Well, Zack would come too. I’ve gotten kinda attached to him, like a puppy. But even so, who else would I be talking to?”

 

“But… why?”

 

“Because.” Carmen leans down. “You are kind. And smart. And I know you see the best in me.”

 

Her face is so close to Ivy’s. “I see good in you. Someone perfectly reckless and determined.”

 

She’s so close that Ivy can barely see her cheeks turn red “And I’d really like to kiss you again. And y’know, keep doing it.”

 

“What’s stopping you?” Ivy leans in closer, closer.

 

“Come with me.” Ivy can feel her breath on her lips. There’s nothing holding her back.

 

Well, why not? 

 

“Okay.”

 

Their second kiss is longer than their first. So’s their third, fourth, fifth. Ivy loses count after that.

 

Sometime later, they stop. Ivy isn’t sure if minutes or lifetimes have passed, but Carmen's curled up against her on the shitty couch in her shittier apartment. Ivy wonders how she ever lived before this.

 

“You know,” Carmen says, even though her voice is lazy from sleep. “Maybe we can find a nice lodge in Tibet.”

 

“That’d be nice.” Ivy hums. “Big fireplace. We could cozy up to each other.”

 

“As soon as we kick Zack out.” Carmen stretches languidly, like a cat, before curling back up against Ivy’s side. “Tell him he has to forage for food or something.”

 

“Just as long as he doesn’t bring back any donuts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally done! TBH, I made more time for this so I could focus on glimmadora week, but I'll definitely get back to Carmen Sandiego (and carmivy) after that. Season two where you at?


End file.
